research project (4): MUSIC AND SONGS
As I've mentioned already, music and songs are extremely important in Bollywood movies. The music is not only a part of the film itself, but also a very powerful marketing tool: It is often released prior to the movie, also along with a music video (this for instance shows the influence from Western TV, music, and cinema).
The songs are sung by professional playback singers, and the actors only lip-sync. What is most important and interesting, too, I think, is the fact that Bollywood does not hide the fact that the actors do not sing themselves - the playback singers are huge stars in India, just like the actors are. Therefore, it might just happen that a ''bad'' film becomes very successful because the viewers just go to hear their favorite playback singers. I think, this is a real testimony of how Bollywood films deal with their audience: They do not try to convince them that everything is totally realistic (like Hollywood does). Quite obviously, Bollywood films are exaggerated, the whole industry just does not take itself so dead seriously.
A song is typically used to transport parts of the film's story, and it can have three potential functions:
[1] It can be an actual part of the plot and coherently woven into it, so that the character has an actual reason to sing it.
[2] The song can predict an event that is about to happen - which is usually two people falling in love.
[3] It may also be used on a different level in order to transport a character's thoughts or feelings, set in an exotic environment which then expresses the surreal quality of the song - that it is just imaginary.
With the industry spending more and more money on its films, the surreal, imaginary scenes are now often shot overseas - in the Swiss Alps, for instance. (And I'm not kidding.)
Here are now two examples to outline a few of these characteristics I've mentioned above.
This video is from the film ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'' (2001).
What you can see here really well are some Indian traditions, which are contrasted with a totally different setting and situation, a little later in the video: The mysterious guy flying in the helicopter, carrying a briefcase.
I haven't found any actual information about the second example, but I'm fairly sure that it is a promotional music video for the film ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'' (2002). It is rather funny, AND it's set in the Swiss Alps ;) Have a look ...
Yeah .. let's just leave it at that for now ;)
The songs are sung by professional playback singers, and the actors only lip-sync. What is most important and interesting, too, I think, is the fact that Bollywood does not hide the fact that the actors do not sing themselves - the playback singers are huge stars in India, just like the actors are. Therefore, it might just happen that a ''bad'' film becomes very successful because the viewers just go to hear their favorite playback singers. I think, this is a real testimony of how Bollywood films deal with their audience: They do not try to convince them that everything is totally realistic (like Hollywood does). Quite obviously, Bollywood films are exaggerated, the whole industry just does not take itself so dead seriously.
A song is typically used to transport parts of the film's story, and it can have three potential functions:
[1] It can be an actual part of the plot and coherently woven into it, so that the character has an actual reason to sing it.
[2] The song can predict an event that is about to happen - which is usually two people falling in love.
[3] It may also be used on a different level in order to transport a character's thoughts or feelings, set in an exotic environment which then expresses the surreal quality of the song - that it is just imaginary.
With the industry spending more and more money on its films, the surreal, imaginary scenes are now often shot overseas - in the Swiss Alps, for instance. (And I'm not kidding.)
Here are now two examples to outline a few of these characteristics I've mentioned above.
This video is from the film ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'' (2001).
What you can see here really well are some Indian traditions, which are contrasted with a totally different setting and situation, a little later in the video: The mysterious guy flying in the helicopter, carrying a briefcase.
I haven't found any actual information about the second example, but I'm fairly sure that it is a promotional music video for the film ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'' (2002). It is rather funny, AND it's set in the Swiss Alps ;) Have a look ...
Yeah .. let's just leave it at that for now ;)